1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of 3-phase motor controllers and more particularly to a pulse generator that can generate three phase signals suitable to control a 3-phase motor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
3-phase motors have been used in numerous industrial applications for decades. These motors, while having three separate windings normally have the windings connected in standard delta or wye configurations. It is known in the art, but not common, to control each motor phase separately with power sinusoidal signal applied to each winding. For example, Eaves in U.S. Pat. No. 6,320,731 teaches a 3-phase motor system with separate windings driven by separate sinusoidal power supplies. In motor-vehicle applications, where a 3-phase electric motor is used in a vehicle to replace a gasoline or diesel engine, it is very desirable to drive and control each phase separately.
It would be advantageous to have a 3-phase generator that could generate pulses on three phase leads that are separated by 120 degrees of phase. This pulse generator could then drive a voltage converter to supply high voltage pulses to each phase winding of the motor and to a capacitor that is coupled across the phase winding.